A Debt Collector
"like I said, you have a debt to pay back. My job is to see to it that the debt is refunded in full".
He did not understand what the voice meant by a debt. Zarek is an illegally rich noble who hoard all the wealth of the city for himself and relinquished none of it to the people.
How can someone like him with a room full of money that not even his third generation to come would be able to use it finish now be in debt.
"how....how much is my debt! I am willing to pay any amount that you ask me to!!".
He does not understand the situation, but he knew that he had to do something to get himself out of this alive.
If it is money they seek, Zarek is willing to pay it back as long as his life is not taken away from him, he is willing to resort to anything.
"sadly for you, your debt is not in the form of treasure but in blood".
"wh..."
Zarek felt like he had been pierced by a sharb object gone very deep into his heart.
Hearing the voice call out blood meant he was going to be killed regardless of what he has to offer.
"you are scared, terrified? You don't have to be, because I won't be killing you, at least not now".
Zarek has no idea if he should be glad or haunted by the thoughts that he might be tortured to painful lengths before being killed, according to what the voice had said.
"two days ago, you gave out an order!".
The voice stopped, like it was thinking about something that it might have missed.
"two days ago, a group of armed forces marched out of your city on a quest to kill a bunch of people your kind refers to as..... Heretics. Correct me if I am wrong".
Zarek took an abrupt walk down his memory lane, in search for the events that happened two days ago.
"ye...ye....yes.....they did. A group of soldiers really marched out of the city in search of Goblins who are known to be worshipping the forbidden God. But I can assure you that I had nothing to do about it. It was all the fault of the church. They gave us nobles no choice but to aid in their quest to purge all hereti! I mean to purge all those that do not have the same believe as they do".
From the way the voice spoke about the heretics made it obvious to Zarek that it is what brought the voice over to his mansion and invaded his home.
He did remember sending out forces to the mountains to purge heretics after getting news of them being there.
Zarek did not act under anyone's order, but under the natural laws that has been passed down from the church and accommodated by all nations alike.
He however could not tell the coarse calm, friendly voice that he was the one who ordered the expedition to the mountains.
The voice stayed silent for a relative amount of time, and that only served to worry Zarek's heart deeply.
He wondered if the voice had managed to catch on to his lies, and how much trouble he would be in if that were to happen.
"who ordered it is no concern of mine. According to her words and I quote. I want them all to pay, all the people that took my family away from me, I want to burn them all to the ground, I will destroy their city and bring upon their lives, destruction".
Sweat dropped down Zarek's face In multiple locations. His eyes got bloodshot red and his heart rate stared beating unsteadily when he heard what the voice said.
"in accordance to her, I gave her a choice. Do I on her behalf rain down destruction on your city, or should I nurture her u till she is strong enough to bring about the destruction by herself".
Zarek's body got tensed that he wished the ground would just open up and swallow him.
The way the voice was speaking sounded inhumane, talking about bringing destruction to a city with a population of more than ten thousand like he was taking a walk in the park.
The confidence the voice used in conveying its intention to Zarek made him even more on edge with thoughts that truly, it could accomplish such feat.
"she chose to make herself stronger and with her own hands, get revenge on you all. That is why I came to a conclusion".
"a year from now, she will be coming to take what belongs to her, the life of every inhabitant in this city of yours. Until then, I have casted a barrier on your city that will prevent any inhabitant from going out, and any outsider from coming in".
"ho...."
Majority of what the voice said just now, sounded like nonsense to Zarek's ears.
Casting a barrier on a city with a population of more than ten thousand is an almost impossible feat to accomplish that would need the coming together of prominent Archmages.
From Zarek's knowledge, the amount of Archmages in the empire can be counted with two hands joined together.
Talking about doing something that would need the presence of such scarce Archmages is nothing but a bluff.
But then again, what he said he did to his room was also not something that can be accomplished by an ordinary being.
Never in his life has he ever heard of a spell capable of separating a particular room from a whole mansion. It has never been heard of, so from his point of view, it should be impossible to do. Nonetheless, the voice did it!
"that is what I came here to convey. You should all prepare yourselves before a year clocks, for she will come and she will do as I have said".
Once the voice was done speaking, the darkness that had reigned in the room was gone, and the light from the lantern on the walls was restored like it had never blown up to begin with.
"fuck! We are doomed!".
Zarek swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he dreads the horror that paid an unwelcomed visit into his home.
He could not afford to pick himself up from the ground as his legs had lost all strength within it.
Zarek sat on the floor there with his face rested on the door, thinking about what to do from here on out.